Bottle holder



NOV. 4, 1941. B sEl-rz` JR 2,261,604

BOTTLE HOLDER Filed Aug. 8, 1939 4 sheets-sheet 1 [10 i 44V y l 11 Nov.4, 1941. G. B. sElTz, JR 2,261,604

` v BOTTLE HOLDER Filed VAug. 8, .1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 22 2V/,w10- ZZNov. 4, 1941. I G. B. sElTz, JR q2,261,604

' BOTTLE HOLDER Filed Aug. 8, 1939 -4 Sheets-Sheet 5 wvo-whois:

Nov. 4, 1941. B. m2, JR 2,261,604-

BOTTLE HOLDER Filed Aug. 8, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov'. 4, 1941UNTED STATES PATENT oFFlcE The present invention relates to bottleholders i *A v and more particularly to improved means for supportingand maintaining a nursing bottle in a babys mouth, in substantially thesame manner as it would be positioned if held by hand.

Heretofore, in devices of this character, the bottle holder has beenconnected to the sides of a crib or carriage by clamping means, or theholder has been so constructed as to be capable of use with only certaintypes of beds or carriages.V

An important object of the present invention is' to provide a simple,eicient and economical bottle holder which may be moved from place toplace and can be set and retained in any desired position, so as to bewithin convenient reach of ,2.0 able bottle holder by a pair of spacedbase vmembers or runners which are shaped and arvranged tov rest firmlyon any suitable surface such as a bed or the like, and without requiringadditional means for maintaining the holder in an upright position.' Thebase members are disposed on opposite sides of the baby or person to befed, and may be moved or adjusted so as not to interfere with thefeeding of the baby. Further, the baby does not have to be 30 `moved ordisturbed either to place the holder over him or to remove the holderfrom its feeding position.

Another'object comprehends the provision of exible means for connectingthe bottle holder to the base members, so as to allow the nipple on thebottle to remain in the babys mouth when he turns from side to side orchanges4 his position. The flexible connecting means also permits thebase members to be moved laterally toward or away from each other inorder that the holder may conveniently fit in cribs or baby carriages ofdifferent sizes and widths. The holder is adjustably connected to theflexible 45 means so that it may be tilted and maintained by gravity indifferent angular positions to insure the bottle being held at all timesin proper feeding position.

A still further object consists in providing a light portable bottleholder with means which allows the parts of the holder to be collapsedor folded in order that the holder may be readily packed flat so as notto make a cumbersome package, and which may be quickly set up at aminimum expenditure of time and effort when it is desired to use theholder.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying claims and drawings.

Referring to the drawings in which are shown several preferredembodiments of the invention,

Figure 1 is a side view of the bottle holder.

Figure 1a is a detailsectional view of one of the base members.

Figure 2 is a front View of Figure 1 showing the holder associated witha baby carriage, crib or the like.

Figure 3 is a plan View of Figure l.

Figure 4 is a detail front view of the adjustable hinge connection. r

Figure 5 is a side View of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a side view of a modified form of the invention.

Figure 7 is arear View of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a plan View of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a view showing the arms of the holder in their collapsed orfolded positions.

Figure 10 is a detail view showing a modified form of a base member orrunner for supporting the holder.

Figure 11 is a detail side View of a modified form of adjustableclamping means for securing Figure 14 is a detail side view showingV a lAmodified form of clamping means associated with a collapsible holdersuch .as disclosed in Figure 6.

Referring to the drawings in which like numerals indicate like'parts inthe several views, the bottle holder comprises a pair of spacedelongated flat base members I0 and II (Figure 2) to which are securedthe upwardly extending side arms or rods I2 and I3, preferably made inone piece and of flexible wire. The lower ends of the arms extendthrough openings I4 in each of the base members (Fig. la) and are bentso as to fit within a recess I5 on the underside of the base members soas to be secured therein by any suitable means such as the staples I6.The arms I2 and I3 are bent or curved inwardly'towards each other as atI'I and I8 and are inclined downwardly to form the overlapped portionsI9 and 20, which terminate at their lower end in a loop 2I (Fig. 4). Theoverlapped portions I9 andv 20 are fastened together by yany suitablemeans Vsuch as the spaced wire binding 22, so as to provide a relativelyrigid medially disposed extension 23 of the arms I2 and I3.

A bottle cradle or retaining means 24 is arranged to be detachably andadjustably connected to the extension 23. As shown, the cradle is formedfrom a single piece of wire bent at its forward end to provide a smallloop or ring 25 and at its opposite extremity a large loop 26, which arearranged to receive the neck and body respectively of a bottle 2'I so asto releasably hold the same in position. The intermediate portion 28 ofthe cradle is bent upon itself as"'at 29 and has a spaced arm 30, whichcoacts with the portion 28 to form an elongated slot 3| arranged toregister with the loop 2|. Theend of the loop 25 may be wrapped ortwisted around the body portion of the cradle as at 32, while theportion 3i! is Wrapped around the body of the cradle as at 33 and has aportion 3'4 which is connected to the loop 26` and `acts as asecuringmeans for the end'35 of the loop. The cradle 24 is connected -totheextension 23 so as to. be maintained in any desired angular posi-'tion by suitable clamping means such as a threaded bolt 36., whichextends through the loop. 2| and the slot 3B and which may be providedwith a locking nut 3l disposed between the extension and the portion 29of the cradle 24. Additionally, washers 38, 39, illv and 4I may beprovided for maintaining the bolt 36 and its associated parts in properspaced position. A wing nut 42 threaded to the bolt 35 serves tomaintain the holder in any predetermined xed position. Thus, it will beseen that the bottle 21 may be adjusted and maintained -at the properheight above the baby and at the proper angle for inserting the nippleinto the babys mouth upon the. actuation of the wing nut 42. The heightadjustment is effected by first loosening the nut 42, which allows ithecradle 24 and the bottle 27| Yto be moved Ilon'gitudinally and ralso tobe tilted angularly, vso as to assume the proper feeding position.IIhese two adjustments maybe made either -simultaneously or separately.`When the bottle is in the proper feeding position, the nut '42 isV#threaded on the bolt 36 so as to maintain the bottle at fthe desiredangle.

The bent end portion 29 of the cradle iis shaped to provide a handlewhich serves, 'when grasped. to move the cradle to its ydifferentadjusted .positions. Due to the fact that 'the loops Y'25 and 26looselyengage 'the bottle, the latter may be readily inserted or removedwithout disturbing thebabyor the-clamping connection of the cradle withthe holder. In other words, the bottle -rnay be inserted in the cradlewhen the rlatter `is-in either its horizontal or inclined feedingposition.

However,v when the bottle is carried by the cradle in ,its inclinedposition,"gravity acts Ato-rnaintain it in firm engagement with theloops 425 and 26 to insure the bottle being held adjacent the mouth lofthe baby.

VThe nipple 21' applied to the bottle k21 may be of any well knownand=conventional type, and the `loop 25 is wide enough so that 'the-nipple will freely slip through the loop. vThe nipple 21' may beprovided with a rubber 'bit 26 that bends or yields as the nipple isvinserted vthrough the of the finfant when 'he turns'or changes hisposition. In Figure 2, the holder is shown associated with a babycarriage, bassinet, crib or the like 43 and has the base members I0 andII resting or firmly supported on the bottom 44 so as to be disposed onopposite sides of the baby in order that the bottle 2'I may be adjustedto the proper longitudinal and angular position to insure properfeeding. Due to the flexibility of the side arms I2 and I3, it will beseen that the base members I0 and may be moved towards or away from eachother, so that the holder may conveniently fit in bassinets, cribs orbaby carriages of different sizes and widths. As will be seen fromFigure la, the top of each of the base members III and II has a smoothsurface and has no sharp or rough projections, thus eliminating thedanger vof parts of the babys body which might contact therewith frombeing scratched or cut and also for preventing bed clothing or garmentsfrom being torn, or catching thereon.

. The basemembers :Iand AII may be made of wood or any other lightmaterial .and are of such length and shape as to Iinsure the holderkbeing A`maintained firmly in a iixe'd position `either in al babycarriage, lbassinet 'or crib, or when the holder is supported in fa bedor 'on thefloor. As shown in Figure l0, the ends of each of the basemembers Il) and I| positioned adjacent the lhead and arms ofthe infant,`may be reduced as at 45.

In the 'modification disclosed in Figures 6 and 7, the holder isarranged to be collapsed or 'folded so as to assume a compact shape whennot in use, in order that it may be easily packed at and convenientlycarried from place -to place. Tn this form, one of .the nexible sidearms such as -45 is preferably slightly larger than its complementaryarm 4'I. The lower ends of the arms are bent outwardly to form thelretaining -loops or openings 48., which .removably receive the spacedbase members 49 'to support the holder in itsoperati've position. 'Thearm 46 extends upwardly lfrom one of the base members `48 and is bentinwardly yas at 50 and downwardly and outwardly Ifasat 5| to provide adepending inclined portion vor extension 5.2 .for-med at its lower endwith a loop 53. The smallerfside arm 4'I is ylikewise Abent inwardly :asat 54 Vand Vhas a depending portion 55, which is Ibent vupwardly Aandloosely wrapped'around the portion 5| of the arm 46 as at `55, toprovide a ,pivotal or swivel connection for securing the arms itogether.The portion 5| immediately below the pivotal connection 56 may be bentlaterally to .provide a shoulder 51for limiting lthe downward movementof the arm` 41 relative to the :arm 46 when `the `partsare set up. Thebottle `cradle or Yretaining means 55,' .is substantially similar v'inconstruction to the vcradle .24 and has an elongated opening 59 arrangedyto register Withthe loop 53 and .may be maintained in any desiredangular and longitudinal position by the threaded boltv which extendsthroughtheloop -53 and the openingp59 and has secured to the .endthereof, a Wingnut 6I for adjustably maintaining the holder v.above the'baby in `the proper feeding position. The spaced 'de'ita'ending' loopsS2 and 53 formed on; the cradle or clampingmember .53 are arranged toreceive the neck and 'body respectively of `the bottle for releasablyholding the same.` It will be seen Athat the collapsible holder -may `bereadily set-up, so 'as to 'assume the position shown in vFigures 6,and'? o'r 'may be `folded to 'the-compact position shown in Figure 9when thecradle 5ta-is disconnected from the 'arm'52 .and the runners 49withdrawnfromthe loops 48, so as to allow the 4 parts ofthe holder to bepacked` or conveniently lcarried from place toplace.

The spaced base members constitute means for supporting the holder onany suitable surface Vsluch as a bed or the licor, so that the bottlecarried by the holder may assume the proper inclined position to feedthe baby and allow the same freedom of movement of the bottle as itwould have 'in *under the base members, so as to be prevented from beingthrown off by movement of the baby. lThe holder is of such size andwidth as to permit free movement of the baby without danger of thebottle being withdrawn from his mouth, and when not in use, it may befolded 'so as to assume the compact shapeshown in Figure 9.

In Figures 11, 12, and 13, there is shown a modified form of clampingmeans for adjustably connecting the bottle cradle to a holder such asdisclosed in Figure 1, and which is constructed and arranged to enablethe bottle to be rotated and maintained in any angular position and atthe proper height above the baby by the operation of a single clampingmeans. In this form, the overlapped arms or rods 64 and 65 projectdownwardly and away from the side arms of the holder (not shown)4 insubstantially the same manner as the inclined extension 23 (Figure l).The lower portion of the arm 64 isbent to form the laterally spacedvertically aligned loops or rings 66, 61, and 68 (Figure ll) and then isbent upwardly as at 69 (Figure 11) to provide the offset portion 10which merges into the arm 65. The intermediate portion H of the bottlecradle is bent to form a handle 'l2 and has spaced arms 13 which form anelongated slot or opening 'I4 and is substantially similar inconstruction to the parts of the cradle 24 shown in Figure 1. A bolt 'l5extends through the vertically aligned loops 66 and 61 and is then bentat right angles as at 16 to provide a horizontally threaded shank 11,which extends outwardly between the spaced loops 61 and 68 (Figure l1).It will be seen that the bolt I5 has a swivel or rotatable connectionwith the loops 66 and 61 to permit the shank 11 to swing in a horizontalarc of about 330. The shank 11 is arranged to extend through theelongated slot 14 of the bottle cradle and carries spaced washers 18 and19 disposed on opposite sides of the arms 13, so that upon thetightening of the wing nut 80 on the threaded shank 11, the washer 18will be forced into frictional engagement with the adjacent sides of theloops 6l and 68 to rmly maintain the bolt 15 in a xed position. At thesame time, the washer 79 will coact with the washer 18 to secure the arm13 and the bottle cradle in its desired adjusted position. Thus, it willbe seen that the bottle carried by the holder may be rotated upon theloosening of the wing nut 80 to the desired horizontal position and alsocan be adjusted to the proper height above the baby by a singleoperation.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 14, a universal joint clampis shown associated .with a' foldable holder such as disclosedin Figure6. l In this form, the depending arm 8l which extends downwardly andoutwardly from one of the supporting arms of the holder, is bent as at82 to forma depending portion 83 which is provided with the laterallyspaced loops 84, 85, and 86. A threaded bolt 81 extends through thespaced loops 84 and 85 and has ahorizontally disposed shank 88 whichprojects through the elongated opening 89 between the spaced arms '98and 9| of the bottlev cradle, and is adjustably clamped thereto throughthe instrumentality of 'thespaced washers '92 and 93 and the wing nut94. When-,the nut 94 is tightened on the shank 88, the bottle cradle maybe maintained in the proper feeding position such as shown in full linesorV if desired the shank 88 upon loosening `of the nut 94 maybe swunghorizontally so that the inner washer 92 may bear against the sides ofthe loops and 8B in the manner as shown in dotted lines in this ligure.

Thus, a substantially universal clamping means is provided to Vmaintainthe bottle cradle in its desired :feeding position and canbe rotated oradjusted. vertically by a single operation. Further, this clamping meansmay be readily asso. ciated with either a non-folding type of holder asshown in Figure 1, or a holder of. the collapsible type as disclosed inFigure 6.

It will be seen that my improved bottle holder may be `used with equaleiiiciency for feeding a baby while lying in a crib or on the floor andthat the partsare so constructed and rarranged as to allow the nipple toremain in the mouth ofthe baby when he turns or moves as he customarilydoes during feeding. Due to the simplicity and minimum number of parts,theholder may be economically made, yet is so efficient in use as .to becapable of meeting all the essential requirements a device of thischaracter should possess. While the holder is primarily adapted forfeeding babies, it will be manifest that it may also be used forsupplying liquid food to the sick and others incapable of feedingthemselves.

It is to be understood that the forms ofthe invention shown anddescribedare merely illustrative of preferred embodiments, and that suchchanges may be made as fall within the purview of one skilled in theart, without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

l. A bottle holder of the class described, including spaced arms havingupwardly extending portions bent inwardly towards each other, the bentportions of said arms being medially inclined downwardly in overlappingrelation to each other and terminating in a loop portion, a cradlehaving spaced means for receiving and holding -a bottle therein, saidcradle having a rearwardly the bottle cradle to the depending member tomaintain the bottle in a fixed position,

3. A foldable holder for nursing bottles, including a pair of spacedbase members, each of said members having a detachable arm extendingupwardly therefrom, saidy arms being curved nwardly towards each other,the curved portion of one arm having a depending portion terminating inan inclined portion, means pivotally connecting the curve portion of theother arm to said depending portion, a bottle cradle, and meansadjustably connecting the bottle cradle to said inclined portion tomaintain the bottle in a xed position.

4. A holder for bottles including a pair of spaced arms, said arms beinglbent inwardly toward each other and terminating in a medially vdisposed depending portion, bottle retaining means, said dependingportion `being bent toprovide vertically spaced .loops extendinglaterally therefrom, a bolt extending through certain .of said loops andhaving a .substantially horizontally disposed shank projecting:outwardly therefrom, said .retaining means having an elongated openingthrough which said shank extends, means for clamping the bottleretaining means to said depending portion, and means on said shank andengaging the depending portion to permit rotatable adjustment oftheretaining means.

5. A holder for bottles including a pair of spaced arms, said arms beingvbent inwardly -at their upper ends toward each other and terminating ina medially disposed inclined depending portion, bottle retaining means,said depending portion bent to provide three vertically spaced loopswhich extend laterally therefrom, a bolt extending through two of saidloops and having a substantially horizontally disposed shank projectingoutwardly of the loops, said bottle retaining means having an elongatedopening arranged to receive said shank, a clamping nut threaded to theshank, and means between the retaining means and the holder and arrangedto bear 'against two of the loops when the clamping nut is applied tomaintain the retaining means in any desired adjusted position, said boltwhen the clamping nut is released being rotatable to permit the`retaining means to be moved to different horizontal positions.

`6. A holder for bottles including a pair of spaced elongatedsubstantially flat base members arranged to rest firmly on `a supportingsurface, each of said members having a flexible arm eX- .tendng upwardlytherefrom, the arms being bent inwardly toward .each other andterminating in a medially disposed depending portion, bottle retainingmeans, and means for adjustably connecting the retaining means to saiddepending portion to maintain the bottle in a xed position, the flexiblearms .allowing the base members to be moved laterally relative to eachother so as to vary the width therebetween.

7. A holder for bottles .including a pair of spacedelongatedsubstantially fiat base members arranged to rest firmly on a .supportingsurface, each of said members having a flexible arm extending .upwardlytherefrom, the arms being bent inwardly toward each .other andterminating in a. medially disposed depending portion inclined outwardlyfrom the arms, a cradle having spaced meansfor receiving and removablyholding a bottlev therein, the bottle, when the cradle is in itsinclined position, vbeing held by gravity in proper feedingposition,said cradle having a rearwardly extending handle, a clamping means foradjustably connecting the `cradle to said inclined portion, saidrearwardly extending handle constituting means to facilitate the manualmovement of the cradle to its different adjusted positions, and saidyiiexble arms allowing the base members to be moved laterally relativeto each other so as to vary the width therebetween.

GEORGE B. SEITZ, JR.

